Typically, access to a data network, such as the Internet, is provisioned through a line connection to a PC via a modem or the like from a network node at the user's premises. Service agreements ordinarily provide for relatively long set periods of access authorization, which may readily be renewed in advance. A desktop user is afforded unlimited use during the subscription period.
As connection is identified with a single premises site, a subscriber who is in need of data communication at another location must obtain alternative provisioning. Although the subscriber may have a laptop usable at remote locations, provision still must be made for acquiring data communication access at each location at which data access is required. Hotels commonly offer connection to the Internet for a fee per day, which may suit the users' needs if restriction to the single hotel premises is acceptable. If the user is traveling, however, access must be engaged at each location at which data communication is required.
So-called “internet cafes,” in which an internet connection can be rented for short intervals, have become commonplace. As the number of ports are limited, expectation of availability of a connection at a particular time is not guaranteed. These establishments generally are crowded and lacking in privacy. As in the hotel example, use is restricted to a single premises. A user must identify such premises and travel to an identified site whenever access is desired.
Laptops and other data devices more recently have been equipped with wireless communication capability. Service agreements with wireless network providers for internet access typically cover lengthy, for example, yearly, periods. The subscriber can thus obtain internet access at any remote location at which the wireless network is available. For a user whose need for data communication at a remote location is a rare occurrence, such a wireless subscription is unnecessary for most of the subscription period and thus unreasonably expensive. Moreover, the typical administration process for registering a new subscription would be significantly inconvenient to a user seeking to obtain immediate data network access for only the next day or so.
The need thus exists for obtaining, quickly and conveniently, inexpensive wireless data communication access for use during one or more short periods. Desirably, authorization for such access should be obtained simply, without the need for a customer care representative.